1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hand-held utensils and, more particularly, to kitchen utensils for removing fruit peels and pits. More specifically, the present invention relates to a utensil for holding fruits, such as, for example, mangos, to assist in removing the outer peel and then the edible flesh that surrounds a hard, inner seed/pit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mangos are fruit of the mango tree, which is now widely cultivated in frost-free tropical and subtropical climates. When ripe the fruit has an outer peeling of variable color—yellow, orange, and red. The center of the fruit is a single, flat oblong seed having a fibrous or hairless surface. The outer shell protects a single seed covered by a paper-thin lining.
The flesh of a ripe mango is very sweet, with a high water content making them refreshing to eat. Mangos occupy a special place in the diet of South Asian people, and have been termed the national fruit of India and the Philippines. Recently, the availability and popularity of mangos have increased in the more temperate regions, and kitchen techniques for removal of the flesh from the inner seed has resulted in the provision of specialized tools—for example that described in Walzak et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2005/0257696.
Such available tools do not provide for the removal of the outer mango skin, and that can be hazardous, since the sharp tools required are used in a slippery environment of mango flesh and juice. It would be desirable to be able to securely retain the mango while utilizing knives and the like to remove and separate the mango flesh from the outer skin and the inner seed.